


Spiritually Gifted

by Damon_Ricky



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Horror, M/M, Modern Character in Thedas, Modern Guy in Thedas, Not a Mage, Not a Modern Girl in Thedas, Not a good Archer, Spirits, Spiritual Power, Suspense, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-06-18 15:39:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15489126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Damon_Ricky/pseuds/Damon_Ricky
Summary: Adrian Makowski have strange spiritual abilities that he couldn’t explain to anyone, less he wanted to get stuck in an asylum. Then, one night, he had the worst dream of his life being chased by crazy looking spiders, a woman glowing gold, and then another lady telling him that she needed him there in Thedas. He wasn’t sure what she meant, but when he woke up, he found himself in a dungeon and in a world entirely different from his own.Post The Wrath of Heaven





	1. Not a Good Archer

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“I was there when the Herald was fighting the Pride Demon. No sword, no arrow, and no spell could harm the beast, not even _the_ Seeker Pentaghast… except for the _Herald_.”

The old Orlesian soldier captivated the small group of young soldiers as he recounted the tale when he first witnessed the man that went from prisoner to the Chosen Herald of Andraste.

“In his hand, he wielded a bow like a master huntsman, and though he seemed like a young lad, he had the Maker and Andraste at his side—I swear that! For when he aimed at the beast, the air around him folded and turned like a tornado, and _he_ was the ‘eye’ of that storm: the calmness and still…”

Every soldier was taken in by this tale of the famous Herald, suspense hanging in the air as the Orlesian continued with the tension-hype rising. “The arrow’s blade lit up as if it was on fire, and then… He let it fly! And it soared on wings of white, holy flames, striking the Pride Demon upon its left eye! …And it cried out in wailing agony, clawing its own face as the arrow seemed to have burn it, and it did! The beast was turning black before it fell apart in _ashes_ and _smoke_. The Pride demon was struck down by the Herald’s _holy arrow_ **.** ”

The small audience awed at the captivating short story of the Herald’s victory on stabilizing the Breach days ago. And while they couldn’t believe that a single arrow could kill a demon as powerful as pride, **_Adrian_** was busy cringing and hiding his embarrassment.

First off, he was no archery expert. He was only level 2 at the very least, and he used a compound bow. So, when Cassandra first shoved the bow and quiver of arrows in his arms, he made it clear that he didn’t know how to use any weapon. But, she also told him that he couldn’t keep fleeing from Demons and wasting his energy.

And second, most importantly, the arrow was a fluke. He had the worst aim ever! He never aimed for the eye. He was aiming for the heart or the chest---around that area! Not the face!

Lastly, third: He wasn’t holy nor was he sent by their Maker, or this Andraste person.

He was Adrian Makowski, a warehouse boy, who had undeniable spiritual powers that didn’t get him anywhere in life, to be honest. Sure, he could see things, hear things that people thought he might be schizophrenic, but he knew things that people had never told anyone. He knew secrets, trouble, etc. He could bring comfort to those who had loved ones departed. Or, ultimately, he was a freak.

But, demon killing and being the herald of some dead prophet were not on his resume.

 “I heard he’s some lost lad far from home, but he did all that?”

“When do we get to meet him?”

“How young is he?”

“Is he handsome? Cute?”

Adrian couldn’t take it anymore, listening to this gossip. He chugged down his glass and abruptly stood. Once he stood up, someone let out a soft gasp, knowing they had realized it was him. He immediately rushed out of the tavern before they would chat with him, heading out into the snowy, cold air.

What happened?

How did he end up in this world?

This place that they call Thedas?

He remembered finishing overtime at work and then he went to the bar to meet with his friends. Marco was talking about a paranormal case and he managed to convince Adrian to come with, including Father Don, in case there were actual demons involved. Detective Kujou was warning them to be careful, and not mistake the ghost for some serial killer. Then, Adrian went straight home, did the normal evening routine before collapsing into bed to sleep for another grueling work day.

That didn’t happen. Instead, he woke up in the worst case of nightmares, except the fact that this whole shit was real! He wasn’t hallucinating! He could feel the icy air biting into his skin and his lips chapping a bit form the dry air…

He wasn’t in Kansas anymore, or say, …

“The Chosen of Andraste, a blessed hero sent to save us all.”

Adrian couldn’t help but jump at the sudden voice, though he calmed down when he realized it was the friendly ‘apostate’, elven mage. It was still pretty freaking cool that elves and even dwarves existed, but more so that magic is real. There were real wizards and witches here like Hogwarts, though more twisted, less wands, and more mage and demon-related.

Solas covered a chuckle as he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, Herald.”

He cringed at that and he waved his hand, refusing to be called as such. “Adrian. It’s just _Adrian_. Please.”

“Very well. _Adrian._ ” Solas complied. “You seem quite troubled a moment ago.”

“I am no hero.” Adrian flat-out told him. “I don’t know why I’m here or how I got here or this mark… I am just as clueless as the next simple person.”

The elven mage raised a brow with a slight skepticism at the boy’s statement. “And what _is_ a simple person?”

“I don’t know… someone boring, someone with no destiny or fate attached?”

The elf chuckled. “I find that hard to believe you were even a ‘simple’ person to begin with, especially when you have this… _spiritual_ _gift_ of which you said you were born with.”

At first, they thought that he was a _specified_ mage, but Adrian managed to convince them that he wasn’t of any sort. The demons were more receptive to his attacks, compared to the others. He remembered how he had fumbled with his bow and then he grabbed the nearest blunt object to hit the oncoming rage demon. He picked up the staff and whacked it over the head, which proved to be highly effective to everyone’s surprise.

To them, the people believed him to be holy that the demons turn away from his light, but he knew it was only because he had a high spiritual power within him. His gift became more complicated when he arrived in this world.

“Yes… but this _spiritual gift_ that shouldn’t be so complicated!” Adrian complained. “It’s… I’ve never felt it this extreme before.”

Solas tilted his head. “What do you mean? How is your gift any different here than from the place you claim to be?”

Adrian gave him a look. Of course, they still haven’t believed that he was from another world. Not even his striped pajamas could prove that. He would have had his phone, but it was probably on the bedside table still charging.

He immediately pushed away the thoughts of what happened now since he had been gone from Earth for more than three weeks. the elf was still waiting for a good explanation, patiently.

Adrian sighed. “It isn’t… physical, nor does it manifest. I could see and hear things, usually from the departed, and I could feel whatever energy they wanted to project, but here… here the rules are different. I… I can’t explain, but I never had to fight demons physically before.”

“How would you usually handle a demon?” Solas questioned curiously as he rubbed his chin.

“I… well, I find out the demon’s name and Father Don would send it back to hell, using its name.”

“ _Father Don?_ ”

“Yes. He is a friend of mine. He’s the local priest of the Catholic Church in my neighborhood… Other than that, I use my power to help people find comfort and maybe some solace… a little motivation to keep moving forward.”

Solas looked a bit guarded now when Adrian mentioned that. “…And what do you see or hear from me?”

Adrian frowned as he focused, but…

“Nothing… like Varric, I couldn’t read him either… Cassandra, I could. Faintly, but someone is there for her. Protecting… a sibling, I think.” He sighed. “I guess there are only a few I could read here… Anyways, this world is insane. The rules here are different. I mean, what is this fade? Or the veil? Is it like the ‘in between’? Or are they separate entities?”

Adrian stopped, realizing he was rambling. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to waste your time. I’m sure you have better ways to spend it rather than with me.”

Solas waved him off. “Nonsense. I can make time now. I will travel the fade another time.”

“…Travel the fade…?” Adrian asked, confused as he recalled being in the fade was an extremely bad thing.

The elf noticed the discomfort and he amended, saying, “I meant travelling the fade in dreams, Da’len.”

Adrian’s eyes widened. “You travel in your dreams…??”

Solas smiled then he gestured to his cabin. “I’m sure we can speak more inside and out of the cold.”

The Herald eagerly followed to learn more about Solas’ out of the body experience as a lucid dreamer. The way he described it, it sounded exactly as how Detective Kujou had conducted. Past events, or memories. She saw them. Solas had journeyed into ancient ruins and witnessed lost civilizations.

He had always wanted to learn that.

“…Can you travel into another person’s dream?” Adrian cut in with a question.

To his delight, the elf answered, “Yes, I can… I tried to find you in your dreams if that was alright.” He added.

Ah. Adrian felt a little bit of fear that this elf had tried to invade his dreams. Tried was the keyword. “That’s…not okay, but did you find me?”

“I did, but I couldn’t get inside. There was this strange wall of intricate webs protecting you and feathers falling like birds have flown in, but there were none flying to see… Is this _barrier_ part of your abilities?”

“Haha… Sort of…” Adrian felt relieved at that. He smiled sheepishly as he reached in underneath his shirt and took out a necklace with a hanging dream catcher.

Solas’ eyes lit up, seeing the woven leathered necklace and the circle with the same ‘intricate webbing’ embroidered with few little blue beads. At the end of this circle were three strings with beads, and each one had a white feather hanging. The object was small, the size of his thumb, but it was much bigger in the dreams.

No words were coming out of the elf’s mouth, so Adrian decided to explain what it was. “This is a dreamcatcher. Technically, its purpose is to catch good dreams and keep the bad ones out… I guess you entering my dream would be bad.” He jested.

Solas narrowed his eyes, and a cold and curtly reply responded, “Is that so?”

Adrian blinked and quickly amended. “I am only joking, Solas. I wasn’t trying to offend you, it was just how this dream catcher work. It’s only trying to protect me and it doesn’t discriminate anyone, because—” He trailed off when he saw the elf was hiding a smirk. “…You didn’t mean it.”

“I did not.” An amused reply.

Adrian gave him a slight annoyed look, but before he could say anything else, there was a knock on the door and Solas permitted the knocker to come in. It was Cassandra, and her eyes laid upon Adrian.

“There you are. Come, it is time for you to meet the rest of the Advisors,” She said.

Adrian nodded and he stood up. He was about to leave but not before thanking Solas, “Thank you for lending me your time. There’s so much to learn and understand.”

He nodded slowly. “When you have questions, Da’len, do not hesitate to ask. I will provide you the answers, if I can.”

“Much appreciated.”

Adrian left the cabin with Cassandra as they made their way to the Chantry.

“What have you two talked about?” She asked, mostly out of curiosity rather than any sort of suspicions. They have ultimately dismissed him as a suspect.

Adrian shrugged. “How my powers are different here than back home.”

She let out a groan, obviously not believing his madman origin. “Your ‘home’ is still quite troubling to swallow, and it is something that we will be discussing with the others, but your ‘abilities’ are unlike any other mages. I could not feel the lyrium gauge inside of you.”

“Maybe that is because I am not a mage...?” Adrian insisted.

“It appears so.”

They walked through the Chantry, the holy place was empty for this morning. Every person in this little town called Haven were still preparing things after all. The place was hectic.

“How is your mark?” She asked. “Does it still trouble you?”

Adrian frowned as he looked down at the glowing green mark on his left hand. “…I think I’m getting used to it… I just wish I knew what it is or how it got there.”

For the last several days, it hurt. It was a never-ending aching pulse that would come in high and low thresholds. It kept him up at night when it proved to be too much. However, it behaved yesterday and last night, he had a good sleep. Today, it was calm but still pulsing constantly. The pain was much lesser now.

“We will find out.” She promised him. “What’s important is that your mark is now stable, as is the Breach.”

Adrian frowned. “But it didn’t close…”

“You’ve given us time, Adrian.” She said, assuring him. “Solas believes a second attempt might succeed—provided the mark has more power… the same level of power used to open the Breach in the first place. That is not easy to come by.”

No shit it wasn’t. That destroyed the whole mountain top, right?

Adrian laughed short, fondly adding sarcasm, “ _Sure_ , why not power up something we barely understand?”

Her lips turned smirking, “Hold on to that sense of humor.”

Glad that the Seeker did have a funny bone somewhere in all that armor. They walked into the war room previously when Cassandra kicked Chancellor Roderick out and declared the Inquisition reborn. There were three people in the room, one of them being Leliana.

Cassandra gestured to the man in lion-pauldron armor. “May I present Commander Cullen, Leader of the Inquisition forces.”

The man had a scarred lip and soft honey brown eyes despite his serious, handsome face. “Such as they are. We lost many soldiers in the valley, and I fear many more before this is through.”

And quite the ‘optimistic’ one…

Cassandra moved on. “This is Lady Josephine Montilyet, our Ambassador and Chief Diplomat.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” She greeted with a polite smile. The first thing he categorized her was a Disney Princess of sort.

Adrian smiled back, bowing his head towards her. “How do you do.”

“And of course, you know Sister Leliana.”

Leliana began, “My position here involves a lot of—”

Though of course the Seeker didn’t like beating around the bush as she bluntly finished, “She is our spymaster.”

The Sister Nightingale looked a bit annoyed as she responded politely, “Yes. Tactfully put, Cassandra.”

Adrian supposed that maybe Leliana was trying to sugar-coat her position, but seeing the dark lilac hood, the armor, and possibly hidden sharp daggers, he already knew she did some shady spy-like shit. He knew not to mess with her despite how kind she could be, but he could feel the coldness from her.

“Well… nice to meet you all.” Adrian bowed his head a bit timidly. They seemed nice.

Cassandra pressed forward, getting to the topic at hand. “I mentioned that your mark needs more power to close the Breach for good.”

“Which means we must approach the rebel mages for help.” Leliana piped in.

Then Cullen refute, “I still disagree. The templars could serve just as well.”

The Seeker sighed. “We need power, Commander. Enough magic poured into that mark—”

Cullen narrowed his eyes, cutting her off, “Might destroy us all. Templars could suppress the breach, weaken it so—”

Leliana seemed to scoff. “Pure speculation.”

“I was a Templar. I know what they’re capable of.” The Commander finished.

Adrian just blinked, smiled, and stood quietly listening to their arguments, not that it mattered. He had no clue whatsoever on what they’re talking about. Rebel Mages. Templars.

“Are you following, Adrian?” Cassandra asked, looking at him as he remained quiet and dumbfounded.

The rest were also looking at him and he hesitated, smiling in a cringe, “Uhmm… I don’t know what you all are talking about. Rebel Mages? Templars?”

Cullen looked not so amused, crossing his arms. “You’re joking…”

Adrian slowly shook his head no.

“And _that_ is another thing that we must discussed.” Leliana said, tapping her chin with her finger. “You do not seem to be lying, or maybe you are lying to yourself, however it is a problem. I’ve searched for you but you are not on the guest list, and you claim to not remember anything except being at home in bed and then before you know it, waking up in the fade.”

He nodded. “That sums it up. Yes.”

She continued, “What makes it more implausible is that you seem to think that you come from a world called Earth and was born in a city of California.”

Adrian corrected her, “Uhh, actually, California is a state. I _come from_ the city of Los Angeles. I wasn’t born there, I was born in San Fran. Also, California is in the nation of the United States of America.”

The others gave him strange glances while Leliana hummed thoughtfully. “You are _very_ consistent with your lies.”

He groaned. “I am _not_ lying!”

“Regardless, you have no identity here in Thedas, and many are starting to question from where you come from. Your accent distinguishes you from everyone else. It is almost dwarven interestingly.” Leliana noted, rubbing her chin.

Josephine then finally piped in, “Speaking of your identity, we have made one for you.”

Adrian sort of understood why this was necessary. He wasn’t from here and his story being from Los Angeles, California is just nonsense.

“I still don’t know a lot about this world.” He pointed out.

Cassandra assured him, “Do not worry. After our meeting, Josephine will be your educator. She will teach you everything you need to know about Thedas.”

Leliana then added, “I have also added a personal trainer for you, Herald, to improve your archery skills.”

Aiden nodded eagerly. “That would be _extremely_ wise.”

“How so?” Cullen asked, cocking his head, confused. “I heard the arrow hit the beast’s eye. That was a good aim.”

Adrian cringed before he confessed, “Uhh, Commander… I was aiming for the _heart_.”

“Maker’s breath…” The Commander gave a disbelief look as he realized now the importance of the Herald improving his skills. The ‘holy arrow’ that he had heard was ultimately a fluke. It would have went horribly wrong if it didn’t hit the beast.

It was extreme luck that that arrow hit the beast.

“We will make sure you’ll be ready.” Leliana promised him.

Adrian nodded. “That’s good and all, but… What’s being done about me getting back home?”

It was silent for a while until Adrian sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to win this battle, “Right. You need proof. Got it…”

He turned around and started leaving the room. Cassandra turned to him, “Halt! Where are you going? We are not done!”

“But _I_ am! At least for today.” He said, adding that part politely as he could before he closed the door behind them and ignored their calls.

Thankfully, they didn’t run after him as he got back out in the cold, lost and wandering once more. Whether he liked it or not, he was stuck here, and these people didn’t believe it. He understood that it was crazy, but it was ultimately a lot more insane for him. Demons, mages, templars, and dragons? Here in this world?

Still, they weren’t the least bit concerned of getting him home, and that made him feel ultimately alone in this world. Somehow, a distant lonesome memory came to him. He wasn’t sure why but perhaps it was because he had felt this way before. He remembered how his grandmother passed away and he ended up in foster care in Oakland, California. There were five other kids like him trapped in a hellhole prison. The caretaker was a horrible woman who locked the fridge and pantry and made them pray in the bathroom whenever they did something wrong. That painful memory carried so much grief, it’s no wonder he was feeling it again now that he was elsewhere. He had lost his home, his friends, and he was stuck here with people that could care less on where he came from.

Adrian could feel the walls closing in around him. No one here would ever believe him, and they will continue thinking he was some insane, hopeless, lost person. Their only savior was a maniac, and honestly, he was no hero. He was no Herald.

So why was he here?

In his haste to get back to his cabin, he hadn’t seen the person around the corner. He bumped right into the stranger, stumbling a bit.

Adrian quickly apologized, “I’m sorry--!”

**_“Watch where you’re going!_** ” It was an animalistic snarl as the man in ragged dark robes turned right around, glaring with a murderous look, but it was his eyes that sent chills down the Herald’s spine.

Black, solid eyes just like the abyss…

It took him a moment to respond, trembling slightly. “I-I’m…sorry—”

He didn’t get to finish as the hedge mage shoved him aside and stomped off. Adrian watched him go, blinking and worrying. Something… There was something not right about that man, other than the black abyssal eyes…

Is that also normal here in Thedas? He really wasn’t sure.

All the more, he felt out of place and he was starting to hyperventilate. Quickly he rushed to his cabin and closed the door shut behind him, locking it. He found a corner and started to curl up, taking deep breaths. His body trembling in anxiety. Realization was starting to hit him like an icy bucket of water just dunked him.

He was all alone here in a world so insane, and he was wrangling the possibility that he might never go back home, and he wished so much that this was just a dream.

Please, let this be just a dream.

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	2. Slightly Good Healer

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“Is it true?”

Leliana peered over to Cullen, raising a brow. “About what exactly?”

“The Herald—Adrian is his name, right?” Cullen waited for confirmation and Leliana nodded, waiting for the Commander to finish his questioning. He went on, “Is it true what he did? That the demons seem to be more… _vulnerable_ towards him?”

She took that moment to look over at the training grounds where the herald was currently being trained by one of her best archers. “… It’s true. When a fear demon disappeared through a portal and was about to jump out from below our feet, he merely stepped back, right on top of the creature and it let out a wail. It was destroyed in an instant.”

Cullen blinked. “That’s not—”

 “And he kept asking where it went.”

He blinked twice. “…What? What do you mean? …You don’t mean…”

She slowly nodded, letting the realization fall. “Yes… He didn’t even know the demon was below our feet. He merely stepped back when he saw it disappear and asked, ‘where did it go?’ …Amazing, is it not?”

Cullen now looked over at the training field, watching the Herald missed the target for the hundredth time now.

“…Maker’s breath.” He gaped incredulously.

 

*

 

Adrian let the arrow fly and he barked out a triumphant laugh when the arrow finally hit the target. He turned to his trainer, Jerome. Jerome, who wasn’t at all impressed but decided to humor him, clapped his hands.

“Excellent work, Herald. From the plentiful arrows you’ve wasted, you finally landed a target, and it only took you thirty minutes, not even hitting the bull’s eyes.” He said with zero-enthusiasm.

Adrian’s joy deflated a bit and looked away from the trainer with defiance. “…You know what, I feel very accomplished right now, and you’re not gonna ruin that for me!”

“Of course, of course.” The trainer responded dryly.

They continued to train mostly on his posture and his aim, getting used to the feeling. Adrian had a few lessons on archery from his friend, Detective Kujou, but with a compound bow. The long bow was much more difficult to handle. It was clear that he needed more upper strength to pull this string. When he thought the training was over, it had only begun as Jerome decided it would be good to teach him some hand to hand combat and how to use daggers. Great.

After a couple of hours, Adrian was finally dismissed and he dragged his feet to the tavern, settling down to get some breakfast. Blessed Maya, one of the barmaids, was coming over to him and taking his order immediately before rushing off to get his meal.

“Mind if I join you?”

Adrian glanced to see it was the friendly dwarf and author, along with his crossbow. He greeted him with a warm smile. “Not at all.”

“It looks like you could use some company.” Varric said, taking a seat.  “I watched your training. You looked like you were about to keel over.”

Adrian groaned, being reminded of the muscle aches. “I never had that much insane workout, not even in my first few weeks of work at the warehouse.”

“And what did you do at this warehouse?” Varric asked curiously. Adrian knew that the dwarf didn’t believe where he came from, but the dwarf was nice enough to humor him, or at least pretend that he was telling the truth. God knows he needed some comfort in that perspective after his episode last night.

He sighed. “I was a warehouse clerk, and we had to do a lot of unloading, sorting, labeling, replenishing, auditing, and shipping about 5,000 to 10,000 boxes per day. Monday’s always the worst.”

Varric’s brows raised. “5,000 to 10,000? Why so many?”

“Because there are many of us, ten folds the population of Thedas. It’s America, and the state of California alone, there are about 40 million of us.”

The dwarf’s eyes widened at that. “…It’s hard to swallow all that information, kid.”

Adrian let out a sigh. “I know… Thanks for even considering…”

“Now, I didn’t say I didn’t believe you,” Varric amended, which in turn Adrian raised a brow of ‘really’. The dwarf continued, “It really doesn’t seem like you’re lying, nor you look like the type to lie. In fact, you seem like a pretty bad liar.”

Adrian frowned. “…Thank… you?”

Varric chuckled. “I was just saying… that the truth is hard to swallow. Besides, I like to know more about this world called _Earth_ , and your home in _California_.”

He smiled a bit at that. “Alright… where should I start…?”

At that moment, Varric got out his journal, ink bottle, and quill. Adrian raised a brow at the dwarf as he sheepishly grinned. This was becoming more of an interview now. “What? I have to take notes… Now, why don’t we start with your home? Do you have any family?”

Adrian shook his head. “No, I don’t have any family. I live alone in this small studio apartment in LA… but I have friends that are the closest to being my family.”

Varric nodded, not taking notes yet. “Oh? Tell me about them.”

“Well, there’s Marco. He’s eccentric in a good way. He tells really good and funny stories, accompanying it with _sound effects_.”

The dwarf raised an amused brow. “Sound effects?”

“Yeah like… noises, or beats. Just to make a point across or emphasize. He’ll even do a cat noise any time he talks about his girlfriend’s cat, cornering him into the bathroom. Anyway, he works in the same warehouse that I do, but he’s also a paranormal investigator.”

“… _Paranormal investigator?_ ”

Adrian blinked. “Ohh, that’s right… umm, let’s see… the demons here are different back in our home. We call them ghosts, first, or wandering spirits. They’re people who have died but have not been able to move on. Not moving on would be the same as not being able to walk into the Maker’s side, right? …Well, you see… when these ghosts, or spirits, remain in the living for too long, they have the potential of becoming demons.”

Varric was now writing notes on that. “I think I understand that. What does the investigating do?”

“Well, in our world, not many believe in ghosts or demons or spirits, but some do exist, and those spirits haunt houses and people… No one believes in them because they couldn’t see them.”

Varric’s eyes widened. “Fuck. So how do you fight them?”

“Ohhh… to be honest, I’d rather much prefer our Earth ghosts, because… well, they haunt. They can’t directly harm you at least not until they get stronger, which could take several weeks. Then the demons would start breaking things, or throwing things, closing doors, making noises, things like that…. Not like here, where you have to grab a sword and kill them, because they’re trying to actually kill you.”

Varric raised a brow, not seeing much of a difference. “…And the demons on Earth don’t try to kill you?”

“Only a few of them ever do, and those are the lethal demons.” Adrian explained. “…The rest just wants to take over you. Possession, and stuff.”

“Fascinating.” A new voice entered.

Adrian knocked over his drink, frightened at the sudden voice behind him, which was Solas. Varric cracked up laughing and Solas covered his sniggering while Adrian hastily tried to clean up the mess. Blessed Maya came to assist him as he profusely apologized.

Once it was cleaned up, Solas had now joined them and Adrian glared at the elf.

“Don’t do that…!”

Solas was smirking, still amused at the ordeal. “I apologize if I had frightened you.”

“You did _frighten_ me…!” Adrian snapped a bit, but it only made Varric laugh harder and Solas failing hard to cover the smile. The Herald sighed as he composed himself.

Solas then composed himself, gently amending, “I do apologize, Adrian, but I overheard your conversation with Varric. I need to hear this as well. What of those _lethal_ demons you speak of?”

Adrian sighed. “Well… there aren’t any specific terms for them, but most of them are cursed beings like… There was one time we explored this house. It acted almost like the Winchester Mansion---it’s a huge mansion with hundreds of rooms within another room. It’s built strangely like how there would be a window that opens to nothing but a wall, or a door on the third floor where it would lead to nothing but falling outside… Anyway, we were hired by someone to take a look at the place, because some people kept disappearing whenever they enter the mansion, and never to be seen or heard.”

“Creepy.” Varric cringed.

Solas noted, “but you and your friend did? This _paranormal_ investigator, Marco?”

“Yes, along with Father Don and Detective Kujou.” Adrian added. “Thankfully, we’re quite a good team, or else we couldn’t have made it out alive.”

“Tell me more about them, but after this Winchester copy of a house.” Varric demanded eagerly. “I feel like this one has a good story. The one that would give the creepy, eerie feeling—like a horror genre.”

Adrian chuckled a bit. “Alright, well… We weren’t the only ones hired to find the lost people, there were also other investigators like us. One claimed herself to be a medium and she had an assistant with her, who…vanished the next day. We all were looking over the mansion, even getting lost ourselves. The place didn’t come with blue prints so we had to retrace our steps. Then… we found her behind a wall where it used to be this huge fireplace—”

“How did they know she was behind a wall?” Varric intercepted, finding the discrepancy in the story.

It was now Adrian’s turn to cringe. “Ummm… you know I told you I am spiritually gifted, right?”

They both nodded, Solas gestured. “Yes, go on.”

“Well… I can see dead people.” Andy answered hesitantly, borrowing the infamous, chilling line from the sixth sense to get his point across.

The two looked at him strangely until Solas prodded, “Elaborate. Please.”

Adrian took a nervous breath in and out as he lowered the volume of his voice for only the elf and the dwarf to hear. “…You know I said that people in my world can’t see spirits, or demons…? …I can see them. Usually… Sometimes they look so real, I couldn’t tell if they are dead or alive… And…sometimes they don’t know it themselves either.”

Solas frowned. “Hmm… I would like to ask you more about your abilities, but please do continue your story.”

Adrian felt uncertain of that but he nodded, clearing his throat, “Yes, well…I saw her… an image of her, pointing at the wall… And we knew there were some rooms that were closed off and so Marco went to get a sledge hammer and he knocked down the wall. It was another small room, but it was actually a huge fireplace, and…. And she was in there. Her dead body was covered in ashes and her throat was slit, blood drained out of her…”

Adrian fell silent as he recalled the horrific memory when they found her. At first, he was calling out that he had found her, but she acted strangely. She continued to stand there with a petrified look in her eyes, frozen in place. She pointed at the wall and in a blink of an eye, she was gone. He knew then she was dead and he convinced Marco to break down the wall. To their horror, they found her there.

“…Now demons aren’t like the ones here in Thedas as I’ve mentioned…and this demon was a more special case—a really dangerous one. A creature that could not only whisk you away, but even take you through walls… That’s considered impossible.” He explained, trying to let them understand the threat level of this demonic being.

“…The assistant was only 18 years old… That’s when Marco surmised that the ghost—No. Demon. This demon was after the young people, and that detail matched with all the missing persons. They were all within the ages of 14 until 25.”

“But why the young people?” Varric questioned. His parchment had a long list of notes.

“We found that out later when we discovered a hidden room. It contained some old and dusty objects, but there was one untitled book that had information of notorious people like Vlad the Impaler, Mary I of England--…” Adrian trailed off, seeing he had lost them and he amended, “These were notorious leaders that killed many, many people. These past rulers also came with rumors, such as Mary I of England is said to have bathe in blood of those she ordered to be executed, and Vlad the Impaler would drink the blood of those that he stabbed with standing spears.”

Adrian stopped and shrugged, not wanting them to get them too lost. “I don’t know too much of it since it was Marco that explained most of the details, but Detective Kujou offered insight of why these young ones were being killed… She thinks that the demon of the house was using their blood to bathe herself in, so that she could make herself be young forever.”

“And how did she come to that conclusion?” Solas asked with a raised brow. The insight was just too detailed.

Adrian cringed, hesitating to explain, “Weeeeelll… during our stay, I told her I had nightmares of this black pool in a bathtub, and some old ancient, naked lady resting in it…”

Varric wrote that down immediately. “You can’t skip details, kid.”

“Sorry, it’s… unnerving to mention it.” Adrian said.

“Do you not like your abilities?” Solas questioned.

He blinked. “What?”

“You’re hesitant in explaining your gift.” The elf pointed out.

Adrian cringed again. “It’s both a gift and a curse, I suppose. Like I said, normal people wouldn’t see ghosts, spirits, or demons... so I had to keep it under wraps.”

“But you get visions in a way?” Varric asked. Like him, he was intrigued, especially since it’s unlike anything he had ever heard, not like with mages. There was only that one time in his brother’s home where Blondie explained that the veil was thin, allowing spirits to crossover. He recalled the vase being thrown at them.

“Yeah… Detective Kujou’s theory was only confirmed when she was ‘spirited away’… The demon had taken her and we went crazy looking for her that night. We had to break down a couple of walls to get to this thick grassy place underneath the mansion. Thankfully, we found her in this wooden bathhouse and we rushed in to take her… but then the demon was there.” Adrian shuddered a bit as he recalled running away from the old limping and rather abnormally fast demonic lady. “It lunged at us but Father Don doused it with holy water. It rendered the demon for a moment, but enough for us to escape with Kujou.”

“You couldn’t kill it with a bow and arrow?” Varric asked, raising a brow.

Adrian raised a skeptic brow back. “Are you kidding me? Ghosts don’t have physical forms unlike here in this…crazy world...!”

The dwarf’s eyes widened as he couldn’t imagine his own Bianca being ineffective to killing those demons. “Andraste’s tits, then how do you get rid of it?”

He shook his head. “In the case of this old hag demon, we couldn’t… There was no way to kill it by any conventional means. We managed to escape from it, and we told the owner he had to burn the house, and even then, condemn the place…”

“I suppose that’s one of the horrors of my world… sometimes spirits can’t find their rest.”

 

 

After the little ghost story, they were about to talk about his abilities but Solas thankfully let him go for now, saying they should speak another time since he looked exhausted. Adrian was tired of the training and he felt drained after reliving that horrifying memory. To be honest, it was one of the few investigations that placed their lives on the line.

Trying to forget that memory, he went to see if there were other things he could do at Haven.

He was supposed to meet with Lady Josephine today though not until after lunch, so for now, he went to see the Requisition lady. Leliana mentioned something about that.

It was an easy task. They needed more elf root for the clinic, so Adrian volunteered to fetch some. The Requisition lady, Threnn, shooed him off with the task, not knowing who he was, which was a relief for Adrian. He couldn’t handle the constant bowing or gasping from these believers that think he’s the Herald of Andraste.

He went just outside of Haven into the snowy parts, gathering elf root. It was easy, just long and tedious, but he didn’t mind the task.

Once he was done, he returned to Haven and looked for the clinic. The clinic was outside of the town, found in camps. Adrian frowned. Wasn’t it colder outside?

He stepping into the open, snowy area of this clinic camp, and a tired woman approached him, snatching the bundle of elf root. “There’s the package! Why did it take so long to finish this?”

Adrian flushed a bit, embarrassed. “Sorry. First job, and I had received it thirty minutes ago--”

“Let’s hope you get better then!” The lady said as she went away to start her work on poultices, probably. Where was Adan? Adrian wondered.

There were plenty of wounded people here, and it didn’t seem like any of them were getting better. Only the strong ones perhaps, but those who looked worse got paler by the hour.

Adrian could see it. A black smoke in some area of every sick person, depicting where their sickness is and where it hurts. Some small, and some bigger. He saw one person—a soldier—lying on a cot, wrapped up in thick, warm sheets, but his whole body was covered in black smoke. Black smoke that only he could see.

And it usually meant he was close to death.

The Herald moved towards the sick soldier and knelt down beside him.

The warrior wearily glanced over to see him. “…Are you a priest…?” He spoke in a ragged breath.

Adrian shook his head. “No… what happened to you?”

The soldier stared at him before his eyes turned away, recalling the memory. “…Fear demon got me, kid… I was helping… getting the Herald…to the temple… the wounds are too deep for any normal mage to heal… my body is failing they say… it’s only a matter of time--” He went into a coughing fit and Adrian placed a hand on his shoulder.

This soldier… this man risked his life for him in a way. Adrian had healed people before in reality, but only small cuts. He remembered because Kujou taught him how to do it, because he had the gift to do so. Chi-healing, she called it, and it was possible to heal someone with it from cancer, though Adrian was not at that level. Scrapes and bruises, he can heal, but not a wound like this one.

But… maybe…maybe he could ease the pain?

“…I thank you then for helping me… let me see what I can do to ease your pain.” Adrian said as he reached down, taking the man’s hand. “I’m sorry I’m not able to do more.”

The soldier gave him a strange look, before his eyes widened, realizing now who he had been speaking to… “It’s… it’s you.”

Adrian smiled a bit. “Yes, it’s me… give me a second.”

He then closed his eyes and focused. He took in all the damage and pain the man was feeling—all that bad energy was transferring into him. He harnessed that negative energy and in one exhale, he let it all out with a breath, and all the black smoke dispersed.

Adrian opened his eyes, seeing the man was no longer clouded in black. That worked… too fast and too easily. Huh.

“Uh…There… you shouldn’t be in pain--”

The soldier immediately sat up in awe and wonder, freaking Adrian out a bit. The man touched his own face and his chest and then moved his arms about, rolling his shoulders and stretching his body.

“I… I’m healed!!” He yelled aloud, catching the attention of those nearby. “I’m healed!! My chest isn’t hurting, my ribs aren’t broken, I can move my arm---I feel great!!”

Adrian blinked, confused as he saw the man was moving vigorously. Did he…. Did he actually heal him completely? Usually, if Adrian took on too much damage, he would have collapsed by now. He looked at his own hands and held himself…. No, he felt fine.

He felt like he could still keep going and take away their pain.

Before he knew it, the soldier was on his knees and bowing to Adrian. He grabbed the Herald’s hands, raising his voice, “Bless you, Herald! Your Worship! You’ve healed me before death would take me! You truly are sent by Andraste, herself!”

He caused more of a commotion as those who were sick were now gathering close, joining in on the miracle.

“He’s still alive… I thought the healer said he was close to death’s doorstep.”

“It’s the Herald… He healed him.”

“Please, heal me too, Your Worship!”

Adrian got up, looking a bit afraid but he saw them. Really saw them. They have suffered. Truly suffered. And so, he rolled his shoulders and called out.

“Those who are more ill and near death will get priority!” He called out, then he noticed the woman from earlier, standing there with her jaw dropping. He moved towards her. “You know the patients here, yes? Take me to those that need to be healed first.”

“Y-yes, your worship.” Mortified she had yelled at him earlier, she quickly answered and led him to the next patient that was also covered in black smoke.

Adrian kept at it for each and every patient that needed it. Through it all, he didn’t feel tired as he took all the bad energy and released it with an exhale. Earlier, he wanted to make himself useful by doing errands, but now… he could do this.

 

*

 

“What is going on?” Cassandra demanded, seeing a crowd gathering in the training courtyard.

Cullen narrowed his eyes, trying to discern the situation. “I’m not sure.”

He and the Seeker marched over to the training courtyard, finding soldiers that were wounded, now up and standing, actively spreading and praising the Herald of Andraste. What was going on? They wondered. Cullen remembered one of them to be in bed with a broken leg, but the soldier was now standing, not wearing a cast.

Cassandra was shocked a bit. What did the Herald do?

Right then, Lieutenant Rylan went up to them.

“Commander! Seeker! These are soldiers from the medical camp, sir. They’ve gotten out of their beds.” He said with disbelief. “They’re saying that the Herald had healed them all of their ailments, and even the worst of wounds.”

Both widened their eyes hearing this. Cullen turned to Cassandra, “I thought you said he wasn’t a mage.”

“He is not.” Cassandra affirmed. Was it part of his spiritual gift? How come he did not say these things before? Not that there was anything wrong with healing powers, but what other abilities did his spiritual gift come with?

Both Cullen and Cassandra went to investigate, and it looked like the med-camp was nearly cleared out of people. They scanned around before deciding to head over to the small crowd around a tent. They pushed their way passed the healthy spectators, stopping when they could see the Herald’s hand on the elven child’s forehead. His eyes were closed as if he was focusing and nothing was happening.

Then, he pulled his hand away, and the little girl sat up, blinking, “It’s not hot…! My fever is gone!”

Adrian grinned at that and he turned to the surgeon. “Is that everyone, Tala?”

Tala nodded quickly. “Yes, your worship, that is everyone.”

“Herald!”

Adrian looked over, and there were Cullen and Cassandra approaching him. What? What did he do this time? He thought. Was he in trouble? Or was there trouble? He wasn’t really sure.

When he stood up, a spark of pain shot up all throughout his body. He reached out, clutching his chest and crying out a bit.

“ _Herald!_ ” They were shouting more urgently and there were worried murmurs around echoing around Adrian, but he couldn’t focus which one was yelling and which one was whispering.

He fell forward and Cullen got to him first, catching him before he fell, passing out.

 

*

 

“He healed all the wounded…”

“…to heal all their wounds, and with that many patients, in one session would have detrimentally killed any other normal mage…”

“…So, you’re saying he’s going to be okay?”

“He is recovering gradually. He will be completely fine by morning.”

“He’s waking up.”

Adrian groaned and his eyes fluttered open. He found himself back in his cabin again, this time waking with Solas, Cassandra, Varric, and Leliana in the room. Varric was lounging on the sofa, writing, Cassandra leaning against the wall with Leliana next to her chatting, and Solas was sitting on a chair, next to his bedside. The candles were lit dimly lighting the room. Was it already sun down? Why have they gathered here?

“…What… why are you all here…?” He asked wearily, still feeling sore and exhausted. Jesus… why did it feel like he just worked 14 hours long?

Solas had a straight face, questioning him. “Do you remember healing every person in the clinic camp?”

Adrian blinked a couple of times, before his eyes widened, remembering the events earlier. He immediately sat right up, only to get hit by a dizzy spell. Solas reached out immediately, steadying the young lad.

“Herald. Don’t move too quickly. You’re still too disoriented, it seems.” Solas chided. “Lay back down, and we’ll talk.”

Talk? Adrian reluctantly lied down, but still feel grateful since it eased up the nauseating whiplash he just felt. They didn’t seem too happy with him. Why? Did the patients get all sick again? Did he break some rule or law? How many times did they have to mistake him for a mage?

“What you did was reckless,” Cassandra began as she took one step towards him. She was glaring straight at him, but her expression was unreadable. She didn’t actually seem mad. “Don’t exhaust yourself like that again. What would happen if you could never wake up?”

Adrian’s eyes widened at that. Were they…worried?

Leliana also spoke up, moving to Cassandra’s side.

“She is right. We still need you…but we would also want to thank you for what you did. Many of those that you have healed were far beyond saving, but you made a miracle happen.” She said with green eyes that lit with wonder.

Adrian slowly sat up again, being careful this time. He was little more relaxed now as he realized he wasn’t in trouble. He was only scolded for harming himself. It was something Detective Kujou did often when he was getting into situations that he could barely even handle.

However, here. Everything of that changed. His abilities were much more useful.

“I’ll be careful next time.” He promised.

Cassandra finally smiled, her shoulders relaxing. “…One more thing… about your situation… We will do whatever we can to find you a way home.”

Adrian’s eyes widened at that. Did they finally believe him? Sort of?

“We will be using all our contacts to get any sort of information, but there are no guarantees,” The Seeker said, reminding the Herald. “After all, what you have described, it sounded like madness. Coming from another world? Who would believe it? _However_ , that doesn’t matter at all.”

Adrian tilted his head. “It doesn’t?”

“No.” Leliana smiled, even if it was small. “…You’ve done so much, and we’re hardly giving you anything in return… If it’s information of returning you home, then so be it. I’ll be certain to monitor anything of world travelling... so long as you continue to help us, help the Inquisition, and restore order in Thedas.”

Hm… if they say so, then it wouldn’t really matter if they believed him, right? He’ll make them believe it when the proof comes to reveal itself. He couldn’t be the only one to have traveled from earth unto this medieval high fantasy place. He just couldn’t be. There had to be answers out there for this.

“…That’s not a problem.” He said to her, smiling back. “I’ve already given you my word, haven't I? I don’t know how much help I can be, other than the mark on my hand and some healing, but I will do my best.”

Later on, that night, he was able to sleep a little easy now. The anxiety and the dreadful pit in his stomach had gone away for now.

Three days from now, as soon as he was feeling all better, they were heading to the Hinterlands.

.

.

.


	3. Not a Good Spirit Medium

*

“ _I’m such a fool!_ ”

Adrian gasped, blinking rapidly as he found himself in a strange dark place. It didn’t seem eerie to him though, but familiar as there were intricate strings with blue beads surrounding him, acting like a spherical barrier with white feathers slowly falling. Was this the area that Solas stumbled upon? But he said he couldn’t get inside. Maybe Adrian himself was inside it.

_“They need to know!”_

He jolted, hearing that desperate masculine voice. He looked around until he spotted an area where the spaces between the vines acted like windows, and on the other side, there was a figure standing there.

It started pounding the glass, and Adrian prayed it wouldn’t break.

_“Please!! Please they need to know! I didn’t run! I didn’t abandon them!” The man pleaded desperately. “I thought I could get help, but a bear… I’m such a fool!”_

Adrian clutched his guts as it felt like it was being ripped to shreds. Is that what happened? He slowly approached the man crying out to him, but then another was shouting to him,

“ _Ellendra, forgive me! For I cannot take the madness no longer!”_ This stranger said and another figure appeared behind his barrier from the other side of the room. “ _Please tell her this! Maker save you. Stay safe. You need no circle if your carry it within you! Please tell her! My name is Mattrin_!”

Then, Adrian’s mouth tasted…bitter. Really bitter and wrong.

“H-hold on!” Adrian called out, and he was about to retort why he couldn’t just do it himself, but then he realized… what if these figures were already dead?

_“Please!! Get my ring back from the Rogue Templars and give it back to my Maura!”_

_“I made a mistake! I shouldn’t have written him that—Get Jenden away from the red! You have to save him!”_

_“Take it back! Take it back! Take it back!”_

Suddenly, more and more of them were appearing, crying and calling out. Some sad like the first two, wishing to pass on messages to their loved ones while others were more twisted and enraged. Adrian was never so grateful as to have sewn this dreamcatcher to protect him from bad dreams and now against the spirits of the dead… but he knew it himself… he needed to help them or they’ll never move on.

“I-I will!” Adrian called out. “I will find all of you and I _will_ help you!!”

Then suddenly, an orchestra of screams, blades clanging, and flames scorching roared maddeningly in his ears. The sound of war and sufferings echoed horribly in his ears, and the place start to glow red all around. The ropes started to snap off and beads were falling everywhere. The feathers lit aflame before crumbling into ashes.

Voices roared,

‘ ** _We are here… we have waited… we have slept._** ’

Seven sets of red eyes were looking straight at him from all around. Adrian didn’t understand what was happening anymore and when he turned around to run, he came face to face with a woman in nobility clothing before she opened her mouth and a vomit of blood poured right out…

*

“GASP!”

Adrian took a sharp breath as he sat up immediately. He panted heavily, looking around before realizing he was in a tent with a sleeping-like-the-dead Solas next to him. For a dreamer walking through the fade, he looked exceptionally peaceful sleeping, and Adrian felt a bit of jealousy.

He sighed heavily, trying to calm down now from the strangest dream…nightmare? Death. So much death. The dreams were stronger here than back at his world.

Quietly and carefully, he got out of the tent, and he spotted the tired scout at the campfire, keeping awake by poking at the campfire with a stick and adding more kindling. The scout was startled when he saw the Herald of Andraste coming out.

Adrian placed a finger on his lips, telling him to be quiet and he offered him a smile of comfort.

“…I just need to use the privy.”

The scout stood up immediately. “Do you need company?”

“No thank you.” He quickly dismissed that. “I’ll be quick.”

Geez. Did having such a grand title mean that there has to be someone there watching you go to the bathroom? That was a bit unnerving, but he could understand their worries. However, right now, Adrian wanted to be alone. He walked away from the camp, not too far off. He just needed to get a fresh breath of air in the winter’s cold. Sheesh… it was really cold here. Like San Francisco…

“You shouldn’t go too far.”

Adrian jumped and he whirled around to meet face to face with a child wrapped in a fur blanket.

The child giggled. “You’re funny.”

“Well, _you_ shouldn’t be scaring people.” Adrian hastily whispered, though all at once he felt a bit better. Maybe he just needed another scare or something. “…Why are you out here? Where are your parents?”

“I have my mom,” he said. “Her name’s Britta. She’s one of your scouts. You’re the Herald, right?”

He winced at that. “Ehh… call me Adrian. What’s your name?”

The little boy smiled. “Chase.”

“Well, Chase, why are you up this late at night?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

Cheeky little butt, Adrian thought, but he couldn’t help to smile. “…I’m an adult. So why don’t you go back to your mother? Make sure she has company. I’m just going to stay here for a while longer.”

The child with deep bags under his eyes frowned at the man before shrugging and answering with a complacent “Okay.” Then he started walking away. Adrian watched him go before turning around and looking up at the stars. They were so…bright and so close… maybe because there was less smog and hardly any light pollution that the sky was so clear and full of them. He’s just only curious as to why there were two moons instead of one, and how come they don’t collide at some point?

Actually, that would be really bad if they collided.

He let out a sigh as he was feeling calmer now. With that, he returned to camp. The scout stood straight up again, saluting and Adrian just smiled a bit, feeling awkward. Yup. This was going to be a thing now, isn’t it?

“…Excuse me, what’s your name?”

“Ryder, sir!”

“Ryder. Do you have paper and a quill to write with…?”

*

“Have you been up this whole time?” Varric asked as he stood in front of Adrian, who was on the wooden log, trying to make do with the position he’s in and the log as the writing desk.

“Yes…I couldn’t go back to sleep.”

“The Seeker won’t like it if she hears you’re not really all that well-rested.”

Adrian smiled. “I’ll be fine. Technically, people can still operate functionally with just five hours of sleep. They’ll just be a little testy, but I’ll manage.”

Varric gave him a raised brow for that explanation before shrugging as he looked over at the journal that Adrian had been writing in. “So? What have you been up to?”

Adrian frowned, wondering if he should tell him or not, but since he told Varric how his powers usually work, even though vaguely, he should be able to tell him this.

“Well…I had a nightmare.”

“About what?” Solas piped in.

Adrian jumped, nearly spilling the ink when the apostate elf came up from next to him. Varric was grinning and he shook his head slowly. “You’re easy to scare, _Jumpy,_ and Chuckles, you need to stop scaring him.”

Solas was smirking slightly as he too raised a brow. “I should let you know that this was not on purpose, and that nickname is aptly named.”

Adrian flushed in embarrassment as the two wore laughing smiles, but when it died down, the topic came back to the notes that the Herald was jutting down accompanied with drawings. He handed the journal to Varric for both of them to read and look over.

“Number one: Hunter torn apart, possibly by bear. Take his letter and return it to love ones in Redcliffe Farms.” Varric read the first line, and continued, “Number two: Mattrin wants the phylactery to be delivered to Ellendra…”

Solas followed up, “Number three: Get Dalish Wedding ring back from the Templars and give it to Maura.”

“What is all this, Jumpy?” Varric asked.

Adrian cringed at the nickname, but he deserved it. He did scare easy even though it’s not really his fault he was jumpy all the time. Solas was such a silent walker; he’d do well as a neighbor in apartments.

“…Well… the nightmare I had… there were voices and they wanted me to deliver messages… I guess.”

Varric and Solas exchanged concerned glances.

“…Does this happen to you often?” The apostate elf asked.

“Well, no—I mean, not like this.” Adrian argued, frowning. “Like I said… this place makes it so weird for me. Dead people don’t just come to me in my dreams. I can usually just hear them if they have something to say to their loved ones, but even then, it can be very faint. I’m not as good as Kujou is in reading spiritually… though, I don’t like the idea of ghosts visiting my dreams.”

Varric cringed as well. “You know these are the times where I’m glad that we dwarves don’t dream.”

Adrian’s eyes widened. “You don’t dream…? Not at all?”

“Nope.”

Adrian pouted. “Lucky.”

Varric chuckled as he looked through the notes and drawings again. “Well, I’ll tell you this, Jumpy, you’re a good artist even with shaky hands.”

“Har, har, but thank you.”

Cassandra finally woke as she had gotten out of her tent, all strapped in armor. Adrian had noticed that she wasn’t so much as a morning person, but if duty calls, she’s up. Adrian was the same way; it’s just that he woke up four hours too early today.

The Seeker’s curiosity peaked when she saw all three of them, gathering and holding a journal.

“What are you all up to?” She asked, mostly glaring at Varric suspiciously.

Varric turned to Adrian, seeking approval before he nodded, gesturing to let her have it. The dwarf turned to the seeker and smiled, “Here. The Herald’s diary.”

Both she and Adrian flushed, and he protested, “It’s so not!”

Cassandra realized the dwarf was lying when she saw the drawings and she took the journal, reading the first few lines. She then looked through, seeing the drawings of people. “What is this?” She questioned.

Adrian smiled a bit tiredly. “I wrote down and drew my dreams from last night.”

“Did you get any sleep?” She asked with a raised brow as she closed the journal, not thinking too much of it as she handed it back to him.

“I had enough.”

She wasn’t too impressed with the answer, but what can she do?

“Why don’t we have the good old rations for breakfast so we can be on our way, yeah?” Varric suggested, moving along the topic. “We’re almost there, aren’t we?”

Cassandra nodded. “We’ll make it there by noon if we hurry.”

Adrian felt sick and anxious thinking about it. He had been dreading going to the Hinterlands, because of some things that he wasn’t ready for…

And killing was one of them.

*

Adrian was no stranger to death. After all, he had this gift ever since he was born. When he was four, he saw the hanging lady at the tree. At eight-years-old, he saw an arm sticking out from the drainage that no one else could see. When he was ten-years-old, there was the old man at the elevator that no one else seem to notice but him. He had seen all sort of death and the most horrifying had to be when they went to Germany and toured the places where the holocaust happened. Marco thought it was a good idea, but it made him really sick after that.

So no, corpses never bothered Adrian. What was bothering him now was that he, himself, was doing the killing.

He looked down at the rogue templar, lying dead on the ground with his own arrow managing to get into his helm, hitting his skull. Instant brain damage and death. Adrian had gotten a little better that he wouldn’t be committing friendly fire, but…to actually kill someone with just an arrow… right now, this corpse was hunting him.

“Are you alright there, Jumpy?” Varric asked, carefully coming up from behind him, shuffling his feet so that the Herald knew he was there.

He didn’t flinch this time, too swallowed up by mortification. “…I’m sorry…I didn’t… if I hadn’t—”

“Ahh shit…” Varric frowned deeply, realizing the problem. “Is this your first…?”

“…Yes…but I know… I know I have to, and If I didn’t, he would have hurt more people if I let him, and then their deaths will be on me.”

Varric nodded. “That’s one good reason to tell yourself. If only to keep composure, but I won’t lie to you… it won’t get any easier… if it’s any consolation, you are right about that. He would have kept hurting people.”

Adrian didn’t say anything, and he remained feeling out of sorts, but he understood a little better.

They gathered the corpses and started burning the bodies. The people here in Thedas didn’t bury loved ones, but rather burn them in pyres. Maybe because Andraste died at a burning pyre and it seemed a fitting end for anyone who had passed on.

Adrian knelt down and signed the cross on the man’s forehead. He may not be Andrastian, but he knew a bit of Catholicism from Father Don to help guide the dead to rest. He remembered a short prayer for the dead from Father Don.

“ _Oh God, by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest, send your holy angels to deliver them from evil, and welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, with your Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen._ ”

There was silence and his prayer must have stunned the Dwarven author to silence. After a while, he asked him, “Was that a prayer from your world?”

“Yes…”

“Hmmm, interesting… what does _Amen_ mean?”

Adrian thought about it for a while, before answering, “It’s a final utterance… _So be it_.”

*

It was awkward speaking with Mother Giselle. He couldn’t help but feel to make comparisons with nuns that would manipulate people with the word of God. She was… patronizing a bit, even as she was doing the Inquisition a favor by sending these names.

“…It’s good of you to do this.” Adrian responded, making sure to convey gratitude.

Then her tone changed, saying, “I honestly don’t know if you’ve been touched by fate, or sent to help us, but…I hope… Hope is what we need now, and the people will listen to your rallying call as they will listen to no other. You could build the Inquisition in to a force that will deliver us… or destroy us.”

There it was again. Maybe Mother Giselle was just cautious, but she wasn’t wrong. If they stray from the path of promises they made into closing the breach, then all is for naught.

“I will go to Haven—”

“ _Venna!_ ”

There was a distressed cry, and all looked towards to see an elven refugee with his wife who had collapsed. Helpers moved towards them, but he called out, “No, stay back! She needs air—she can’t breathe!”

Adrian glanced at Mother Giselle before heading over to the refugee, kneeling down before them. “What’s going on? How can I help?”

“M-my wife would get episodes, but not extreme like this,” The refugee said before adding, “My son, Hyndel! He has the potion that can help her breathe. He’s gone off to join that cult!”

Adrian tilted his head as he saw the black smoke forming around his wife’s chest and it was growing rapidly. “Where?”

“South of here! There’s a fortress called Wintermarch where a following of mages have gathered, forming a cult.”

Varric moved closer as he had the map. “It will take us a while to get there and even then, from coming back. An hour at best if we hurry.”

Adrian frowned deeply. No time then. “…Here, let me try something.” He reached out slowly to place his hand above her chest.

The refugee husband only frowned. “Magic won’t heal her.”

“This isn’t magic. It’s also temporary, so she’ll be okay for a long while—long enough that we’ll be able to get the potion from your son as well as the recipe,” Adrian explained then he closed his eyes focusing on taking in all her pain and ailments. He could probably guess that people would be looking at him strangely. After all, there wouldn’t be a light or anything like how Solas would mend broken bones.

_Normal people can’t see it, but I can see. You take all that smoke inside of you and then expel it out with the other hand. It’s a skill that only unique people possess, and the more you do it, you’ll even be able to cure cancer itself… with the expense of dying._

He recalled Kujou saying that to him, but this was Thedas. Somehow, his gift was much more powerful here, and so this _asthma_ attack was the equivalent of healing a scratch. He took all her suffering and expelled it.

_Venna_ woke with a start and she sat up, breathing deeply as Adrian pulled away.

“What… What happened?” She asked. She took another breath in and out. “I can breathe easily now.”

The refugee’s jaw dropped low, gaping at Adrian, unable to speak. That made Adrian feel uneasy as he quickly got up, moving away from them. “Well… ummm… I’ll make sure to visit your son and get the potion recipe from him.”

“H-he’s the Herald of Andraste!” Someone cried out.

“I heard he healed all his fallen soldiers at camp!! Without magic!”

“It’s divine healing!!”

Mother Giselle stood there with a stunned expression, and Adrian’s smile turned to a cringed. Oh shit… he felt like he had done it again, and now he couldn’t ignore the injured here. To be honest, there were less of them than the ones back in Haven. For now, he prioritized the ones who were sicker.

Varric was wearing smile, saying, “It’s good that you’re doing this, Jumpy… but the Seeker will probably wring your neck.”

A shiver ran down his spine. “…Yeah…” That part is true.

He got to work, healing the wounded by starting off with those who were the sickest and wounded.

*

“I cannot believe you were reckless again.”

The Seeker’s tone was seething with disapproval as Adrian was sitting down around the campfire, trying to get over this sudden migraine after healing everyone in the clinic. Word would rapidly spread of his divinity healing, but he didn’t want to make it into a habit, although, altruistically, he was helping people.

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t say no…” Adrian admitted. He wouldn’t be able to deny them healing anyway, even if it was an enemy. Perhaps, it also made the guilt inside him less hurting if he were healing more people. He looked up and saw the sun would be setting in a couple of hours, and no sign of Varric or Solas.

“Hey Cass…?”

“What is it?”

“Where’s Solas and Varric?”

She let out a sigh. “Corporal Vale mentioned that the refugees needed food. Varric and Solas offered their services to hunt some ram. They are with three other soldiers assisting them in this errand. They should be back by now… Still. We should set a rule. Unless it is an emergency or if the wound tends toward to fatal, you cannot just heal people on the whim. Think of your own health first, Herald.”

Again, she had scolded, and she wasn’t wrong. She was sounding a lot more like Kujou. Sometimes, he did overdo it. If someone had a broken arm, they would be fine in a month or two in a cast, right? No urgency there for him to just heal them like that. Plus, there were other mages capable of healing wounds and mending bones. He should have asked for their assistance rather than himself taking on everything. It… didn’t feel right.

“They’ve returned.” Cassandra said and Adrian looked up to see Solas and Varric coming up from the hill, and they looked a bit…pale. Solas was unreadable as usual, but Varric was… quiet.

Even the Seeker noticed something was wrong. “What is it?”

Solas went straight to business. “We found a dead woman on the road while we were out hunting rams.”

“We’ve caught three, by the way,” Varric interrupted, adding some news of progress.

The elf nodded at that, confirming, but he continued, holding up the parchment, “We stopped when we found the corpse and this letter addressed to _Lady Vellina_.”

Adrian’s color drained and he reached out to grab his journal, but the Seeker got to it first. She grabbed the journal and flipped over to the specific page of where she had seen and read the name accompanied by a rough portrait.

_Oh no_. Adrian never did specify how his spiritual power worked. To a seeker, rather than the dead visiting him, it would have been demons attacking his mind. That’s considered an undesirable outcome. And… Varric and Solas were probably thinking that demons might also be after him.

“What…? How is this possible?” The Seeker demanded. “Take us to the corpse, now.”

Adrian was forced to walk as they quickly head over to the path where two scouts were waiting and guarding. The corpse was hidden by a linen tarp and when the tarp was pulled down, the face and the portrait were nearly identical.

_Oh nooo…_ The fear and anxiety were clearing up his migraine.

The Seeker whirled on Adrian. “Explain!”

“Okay, look, this has nothing to do with demons—spirits, maybe, but especially those who had died,” Adrian explained quickly to the Seeker. “They visited me last night. They wanted me to find them.”

“Those are nothing but demons!” Cassandra shouted. “You could have been possessed!”

“Seeker, a moment.” Solas interrupted, looking at Adrian, “It is not possible for him to be possessed.”

Both Adrian and Cassandra turned to him with surprising looks.

“What?” / “Come again?”

The elf continued, “Adrian has an amulet of some sort that protects his dreams and his mind. _I_ can’t even enter his dreams with him wearing it, and I’ve tried multiple times.”

Adrian pulled the ‘amulet’ / dreamcatcher necklace that was hidden underneath his shirt, showing it to the seeker. “He’s right. I’ve been having normal dreams, except for last night, and _only_ because we are near the areas that these people have died.”

“Many have died here.” Cassandra pointed out. “Why are these ‘spirits’ bothering you?”

“Because there are some that can’t move on, or that they needed to let their love ones know… Maybe they have regrets, or maybe they are waiting for their loved ones to pass so they can go together to wherever—what is the saying here? _Walk in the Maker’s light?_ ” Adrian frowned deeply at that, before sighing, “Point is, that’s what I do! I mean, back in my world, I was barely good at it, since it’s so hard to listen, but here, their words and intentions are clear!”

The Seeker made a face. “Or maybe these _demons_ are clever. You need to be more careful, Herald.”

This was the moment where he should have kept his mouth shut, but he couldn’t.

“Is _Anthony_ a demon?” Adrian challenged and the color on Cassandra’s face drained, hearing the name. “…I should warn you then. He’s there. Always there, right at your side. You know what else? He wants to tell you how every day, you never stopped making him proud of you!”

“I… what…?”

Adrian just pressed forward, “And no! He doesn’t think that you’re crazy! Maybe just a little, but he said, it runs in the family, so… it’s okay to be a little brash…Cassandra.”

It was silent between them now as all of them were watching the Seeker. Nobody moved, and Adrian was started to get anxious again. Oh my god, what did he just do? Why did he do that? He shouldn’t have done that!! He had never seen the Seeker like this, and the woman was always strong and dependable. He shouldn’t have…

“U-Umm… Cassandra? I’m sorry—”

The Seeker then turned around and marched off, heading towards the direction back to camp, leaving them there.

Silence carried until Varric whispered, “Jumpy… you _spooked_ the _Seeker_.”


End file.
